Sunspot region 2894

Friday, 5 November 2021 17:15 UTC

While sunspot region 2891 was facing Earth head-on it exploded with a very long duration M1.7 solar flare. The eruption launched a fantastic asymmetrical full halo coronal mass ejection that arrived earlier than anticipated around 19:30 UTC on 3 November. The solar wind speed increased to 700km/s and the north-south component of the interplanetary magnetic field dipped regularly southwards, fueling aurora activity around the globe and sparking numerous periods where the strong G3 geomagnetic storm threshold was reached. What a roller coaster ride it has been. Solar Cycle 25 is really doing its best to make a great first impression!

As for SpaceWeatherLive, you good folks truly stormed the website and our mobile iOS/Android app and we smashed every record we can think of on multiple days. Thank you so much for your support everyone!

Sunspot region 2894

So what's up next? Geomagnetic conditions have been calming down significantly but the solar wind speed remains at 550km/s which could cause sporadic aurora outbreaks at high latitudes. On the Sun we do not see any major or significant sunspot regions that require a closer look at. Sunspot region 2894 which just rotated onto the earth-facing solar disk might be worth keeping an eye on. It is fairly small but has produced the occasional low-level C-class solar flares. Lets hope it develops into a bigger region as it rotates into a more earth-facing position.